Epiworld (7 page)

‘I – I was hungry,’ I reply quietly. ‘Sorry, mate.’

I have no idea what happens next. Faces fade into the distance, the world turns over, and I disappear into my familiar dark world. When I open my eyes I see Demi bending over me, crying.

‘Travis! Travis! You’re all right!’

‘Of course he’s all right! Move away now, Demi, I need to examine this young man.’

‘Come on, Demi, hen,’ I hear a woman say.

I can’t seem to move my head. I’m lying, warm and snug, in a comfortable bed, looking at walls covered in pictures of gorgeous girls with barely anything on. I’m wearing some sort of suit with red and white checks. The pod! My jacket and trousers are lying on a chair. I hope no one has been through the pockets and found it, or the clock!

Demi’s sniffles die away as the door closes. Her face is replaced by one belonging to a friendly-looking man with grey hair. I think he’s Dr Alexander at first.

‘I’m Dr MacIntyre,’ he says. ‘Is Dr Alexander your doctor at home?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How long have you had epilepsy, Travis?’

‘Don’t know.’ I rub my forehead. ‘Months.’

‘Are the tonic-clonic seizures usually severe?’

‘I pass out, yeah.’

‘OK. How’s the head?’

‘Sore.’

‘Do you know where you are?’

I confirm my name, that I’m at Demi’s house, but I can’t say the name of the Prime Minister (I don’t even know what a Prime Minister is), or the name of the island. I admit I haven’t been taking any medication.

‘Well, if you don’t take your tablets you will have seizures,’ says Dr MacIntyre. ‘Don’t you have any left?’

‘No. Anyway, I don’t think they’ve been doing much good.’

‘If you give me Dr Alexander’s phone number I’ll ring him to ask for your prescription, and to send over your medical notes.’

I bite my lip. ‘I don’t – I’ve forgotten it.’

‘Do you know the name of your medication?’

I think hard. ‘Teg – Teg...’

‘Tegretol?’

‘Yeah, that’s it.’

‘I’ll prescribe an emergency course until you go back home.’ He scribbles something down on a pad. ‘I’ll give this to Mrs Fraser. In the meantime I want you to rest until you get your strength back. I’ll tell the family what to do if you have another fit. You won’t need to go to hospital unless you don’t recover within twenty minutes. They can’t usually do much. Oh, and Travis...’

‘What?’

‘It isn’t a good idea to camp out in caves.’

Demi has a big mouth!

‘I’ll come back tomorrow, and see how you’re getting on.’

He packs his bag, and leaves the room. Shortly afterwards Demi pops her head around the door.

‘Can I come in?’ she asks nervously.

‘It’s your house,’ I tell her.

She sits down next to me. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Like sh – like crap! Did I scare you?’

‘Not really. A girl at my school has fits, so I’ve seen it before. Yours lasted just a few seconds. Angus carried you in when you’d finished. Sorry about the room.’ She screws up her nose as she looks at the pictures. ‘It’s our Cameron’s. As you can see he’s into skinny bimbos!’

‘Will he mind me using his bed?’ I ask. After my encounter with Angus I’m not up to a ding-dong with her brother, too.

‘No, he’s at agricultural college in Edinburgh. He’s going to manage the farm when Dad retires.’ Demi examines her hands. ‘Where’ve you been all this time, Travis?’

‘What do you mean? I’ve been in the cave. I stayed there last night.’

‘Oh, Travis! You’re always teasing!’

I sit up, gripping her hand tightly. ‘What do you mean, Demi?’

‘You didn’t even say goodbye!’

‘Goodbye?’ I have to lie back again because my head throbs. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I came to the cave to meet you like we planned,’ says Demi, ‘and you weren’t there. I came every day for a week, but there was no sign of you. I haven’t seen you for nearly five months!’

She doesn’t look like she’s joking. The vans have all gone from the field. The weather is colder, like the weather in the past described to me by the old ones. It isn’t just a crummy summer’s day; the seasons have actually changed.

‘What – what’s the date?’ I ask in a hushed voice.

‘The third of January,’ replies Demi flatly. ‘You missed Christmas.’

Stunned, I close my eyes. I’ve lost five months of my life!

And that also means it’s no longer two thousand and nine; it’s two thousand and ten.

––––––––

D
emi leaves the door ajar. ‘How’s he feeling?’ I think that’s her mother’s voice.

‘He’s tired, so I’ve left him to sleep. Can he stay, Dad?’

There’s a pause before her dad’s voice drifts into the room. ‘Aye; until he’s better. Dr Mac said he’s coming back to see him tomorrow, anyway.’

‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to go anywhere until he’s feeling up to it,’ says Mrs Fraser. ‘I ought to call his mother, though. He should be at home if he’s ill. I’ll ask him for the number later.’

I hold my breath.

‘I reckon he’ll have to stay for at least a week,’ says Demi.

‘We’ll see,’ says her dad.

Their voices fade away.

Hours later I open my eyes, and see an angel staring down at me. It takes me a moment to realise that it’s Mrs Fraser, holding a tray of food. It’s the first time I’ve seen her properly.

‘Mornin’, Travis,’ she says cheerfully. ‘How did you sleep?’

I blink at her. ‘Is it morning again?’

‘Yes, it’s half-past nine. Demi’s at school, but she’ll be home for dinner. You’ve been asleep for nearly fifteen hours. You must have needed it!’

I look hungrily at the toast, eggs, cereal, coffee, and fruit juice.

‘Take your time, Travis,’ says Mrs Fraser as I gobble a piece of toast. ‘Don’t eat so fast, or you’ll make yourself sick.’

I slow down. I don’t tell her I’ve not eaten for a long time.

‘When you’ve finished your breakfast why don’t you have a bath and a change of clothes? There’s plenty of stuff our Cameron left behind which might fit you all right. You’ll feel much better for it.’

I sniff my armpits ruefully. ‘I stink a bit, don’t I?’

‘Just a bit.’ Mrs Fraser laughs. Suddenly I think how lovely she is, like a young girl, not old enough to be Demi’s mother, although she must be about thirty-five. She has a nice body, too, all curvy and sexy. ‘I’ll run the bath. Finish your breakfast first, though.’

As soon as she closes the door I walk slowly to the chair. I search my jacket pockets for the pod and the clock. I put the clock at the back of a drawer, intending to put it back in the hall the first chance I get. The pod will stay with me, but I won’t swallow it again. I clasp it in my hand, close my eyes tight, and concentrate hard. ‘Hudson! Hudson!’

No answer, but I must keep trying. I don’t want to lose touch completely with my own world.

I feel much better after I’ve eaten my breakfast. My head is clearer, and the stiffness has left my body. I go to the window and look out. It’s a dull and misty day. I’m just about able to make out the top of the mountain in the distance.

There’s a knock at the door, and Mrs Fraser comes in. I don’t know why, but I pull the curtain around me.

‘I see you’re out of bed,’ she says, smiling. ‘Your bath is running. Have you found anything to put on yet?’

‘No. Sorry.’

‘There should be a pair of jeans in the wardrobe, and T-shirts and undies in the drawer. I’m not sure whether Cameron’s old trainers will fit you, but they should be in the back of the wardrobe somewhere, too. The bathroom’s at the end of the hall. Don’t let the bath get too full.’

When she leaves I find the jeans and trainers, and pull out a plain black T-shirt from the drawer. After putting the pod in the jeans pocket I take the clothes to the bathroom.

This is my first time in a bath, so I make the most of it, thinking of the lukewarm showers at the institution. I scrub my body, and soap my hair until it smarts. By the time I finish the water is almost black.

‘Filthy git!’ I mutter, grinning.

I want to soak for a bit, but I’m not soaking in scum! I empty the bath, wash it, and fill it again. I don’t think Mrs Fraser will mind. I sink under the clean water for a moment before resurfacing, a dangerous thing for an epileptic to do according to Dr Alexander, which is why I’m never allowed to shower alone at the institution. It’s luxury, having privacy here.

I sigh. This beats dossing down in a cave, although it’s warm enough there, but there’s nowhere to wash unless you use the sea, and if I keep peeing in the corner of the cavern it’ll soon start to pong. I miss the cave, though. It gives me freedom, and I can’t shake off the feeling that it’s important to me. 

I lie back, and wonder where I’ve been for five months. How come I’ve managed to lose so much time? It must be last night’s seizure; a violent one if it’s catapulted me so far ahead in time! It’s the only explanation I have. Maybe something has been happening to me in twenty ninety-nine. They could be doing something to the probe, trying to get some response. That might induce a fit. Or they could be injecting me with drugs, trying to force me out of the darkness. I don’t get visions or flashbacks of my old life, I only hear the voices. They may be tampering with my body...

...or operating on my brain!

Water splashes over the side of the bath as I sit upright. What if Chase is doing the epilepsy surgery, and what if I’m dying?

My heart pumps hard in my chest. I’ve no control over what they might be doing to me back in my own time! I’m powerless to stop them!

I grip the flannel and close my eyes tightly. ‘Wake up!’ I tell myself.  ‘You have to wake up!’

I open my eyes again. I’m still in the bathroom. Well, I know I can’t go back just like that. It’s going to take something extreme to make that happen. This is a new, friendlier place, colourful and carefree, but could I let my body go in twenty ninety-nine, and make a life for myself here? I’m not sure.

There’s a knock at the door. I sink under the water to hide my nakedness; then I relax. The door is locked.

‘Travis?’ It’s Mrs Fraser. ‘Dr Mac is here to see you.’

‘Right. Thanks.’

I’m reluctant to get out of the hot bath, but ten minutes later I’m dressed in Cameron’s clothes, making sure the pod is safely in the jeans pocket, and I find Mrs Fraser and Dr Mac in the sitting room.

‘Oh, you look so much better!’ Mrs Fraser says. ‘Doesn’t he, Dr Mac? Hey, Cameron’s stuff really suits you, Travis!’

I fiddle with the T-shirt self-consciously.

‘How are you feeling today, Travis?’ asks Dr MacIntyre.

‘Better, like Mrs Fraser says, thanks, doctor.’

‘Tea or coffee, Travis?’ asks Mrs Fraser.

I ask for coffee, and Mrs Fraser goes out to the kitchen to make it. I sit down slowly, loving the way she swings her hips when she walks, and counting the minutes when she’ll come back again.

‘Travis! Travis!’

I stare around the room.

‘How are you? Are you happy?’

‘Dr Alexander?’ His voice is so clear, but I don’t realise I’m smiling at Dr Mac. ‘It is you! What are you doing here? Have you come to take me back?’

‘Travis!’

I jump. Dr Mac is giving me strange looks.

‘I’ve brought you some medication,’ he says, ‘enough to last you till you return home.’

I take the boxes with shaking hands, muttering my thanks.

‘I should contact – Dr Alexander, is it? – let him know what I’ve prescribed. Can you remember his telephone number today?’

I shake my head. Mrs Fraser comes in with the coffee.

‘I was just saying about Travis’s doctor, Mrs Fraser.’

‘Aye; and I must ring your parents to let them know you’re safe.’

‘They died,’ I blurt out quickly, ‘in an accident.’

‘Oh!’ gasps Mrs Fraser. ‘I’m sorry, Travis.’

‘It’s all right. I left my home to travel, to try and forget...’

‘Don’t you have any other family, Travis, aunties, uncles, grandparents, who could take care of you?’

‘No.’ I rub my eyes. ‘I’m alone now.’

I wish Dr Mac would stop staring.

‘So where is home?’

I name the place I remember from a certificate hanging on the wall in Chase’s office. ‘Manchester.’

‘How long ago did you leave?’

‘About a year ago.’

‘A year!’ exclaims Mrs Fraser. ‘You mean you’ve been travelling around the country for a year?’

I start to feel uncomfortable. More questions!

‘You’re a little young to be travelling alone,’ pursues Dr Mac.

‘There’s no one around to tell me I can’t.’

‘Even so you can’t be any older than fifteen...’

‘I’m sixteen.’

‘I believe you’re fifteen. You shouldn’t have been left without support so young. I wouldn’t be surprised if social services and even the police aren’t on the lookout for you.’

I stiffen. ‘What have the police got to do with it?’

‘Don’t frighten him, Dr Mac!’ says Mrs Fraser. ‘He’s not on the run, his parents have died!’

‘Even so...’

‘Anyway, I’ve had enough tablets to keep me going till now. It’s just that with me leaving home...’

Dr Mac says nothing.

‘Well,’ says Mrs Fraser, ‘you can stay here as long as you like, Travis. Demi will be pleased, and Mr Fraser could always do with an extra pair of hands on the farm if you’re up for it.’

I nod slowly, grateful for the opportunity of a roof, a bed, and regular food; but I’m wary now. I don’t like the way Dr Mac is looking at me.

He leaves soon after that. I help Mrs Fraser by taking the empty mugs to the kitchen. Then we go out into the yard to feed the hens. I’m tense as I scatter the food.

‘Are you OK, Travis?’

‘Yeah. Sorry.’

‘I’ve been chatting away, but you’ve hardly heard a word.’

I put my hand to my head. ‘I’m just a bit dizzy, that’s all.’

It’s not a lie. I’m dizzy with nerves, expecting to be carted off by the law any minute.

‘Go and lie down, then, love,’ says Mrs Fraser, taking the bucket of chicken feed. ‘Go on. You’re not well yet, and you need to rest.’

Love; who calls you that if they don’t like you? I can’t help it. I put my arms around her waist, and kiss her quickly on the cheek.